Artur Gatchinski

Max Aaron

Keegan Messing

Other - please specify

It seems like the Japanese men are setting the bar and dominating men's skating right now. Apart from Chan and Fernandez when he delivers, the scoring potential between the "big 3" (Hanyu, Takahashi, Chan), plus well-skating Kozuka and Fernandez, and everyone else seems to be growing. So the question is, is there a guy in the US or Europe capable of scoring 90+ SP and 170+ FS in the foreseeable future (relatively short term - a few years out at most)? And if people believe there is, who are these men and can they bridge the gap before the 2014 Olympics? Do you think any of the guys on the list can be successful with a quad in the SP and two in the FS? Or will things change after 2014 Olympics and so many quads won't be necessary to win?

Feel free to discuss. And I left Plushenko out of the poll because he's his own case of skater with his own set of scoring rules/capabilities IMO.

Amodio has very smooth skating and his 4s is coming along. He just needs to get away from Morozov and get programs with less two feet skating that show off his smoothness more. I'm hoping Brezina can bounce back, he was so promising a few years ago but putting the quad in his programs really seems to have messed with his consistency. Maybe it's just a matter of adjusting to the new coaching situation..

Jeremy Abbott is fully capable of challenging the top Japanese skaters and even Chan, if only he skates the way he is capable of. I know that's a big if, but he is the most talented skater among those mentioned here.

During competitions I always choose the skaters who will likely medal and then there are the skaters who for one reason or another are my sentimal favourites, it could be because I like their skating style or their attitude or anything else. I realise these people very probably won't medal, but I wish they would (for example, Lucinda Ruh used to be one of my sentimental favourites for a medal, even though I knew it was impossible without the more difficult jumps). I'd like to see Abbott show what he really is capable of and make the World and Olympic podium, but I doubt it will happen.

Jeremy Abbott is fully capable of challenging the top Japanese skaters and even Chan, if only he skates the way he is capable of. I know that's a big if, but he is the most talented skater among those mentioned here.

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Yes but his time is running out. I'm still hoping Brezina and Dornbush can pull themselves together, if not maybe Farris or Messing could break through.

What a silly and meaningless poll if you deliberately exclude Fernandez and Plushenko.

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I excluded them because I've already considered them as being capable of doing so. This poll asks the question - who else BESIDES those two can do the same? Because it's already pretty clear those two can/have.

Until after Sochi absolutely nobody. Which is fine by me, I am just glad that the Japanese men and maybe Fernandez are closing the gap on Chan, and so we will have a real battle in Sochi with Takahashi, Chan, Hanyu, and Fernandez. The rest have no chance of more than a bronze but that is perfectly fine by me, it is still way more a battle than it looked like it would be 6 months ago.

Brezina is more of a headcase type
he just lost to Menshov big time at NRW

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I saw that and was very distressed, he was 5th in the FS with PCS that were arguably too high. Ge, Liebers, Besseigher all beat him in FS. And that was with Michal landing 4s and 3a. Just stupid mistakes added up and did him in. It makes me sad to see someone so talented struggle, especially b/c his teammate Verner has been doing so for years despite all the talent. It's not too late for Michal but something's gotta click soon.

I excluded them because I've already considered them as being capable of doing so. This poll asks the question - who else BESIDES those two can do the same? Because it's already pretty clear those two can/have.

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For the record I highly doubt Plushenko can. He would need a ton of help with falls to do so at this point. He couldnt even beat Lysacek as a younger (less old for amateur skating) man a few years back, and Chan and the Japanese are skating at a way higher level than someone like Lysacek could ever dream of.

It's anybody's game, I honestly cannot pick one, whomever wants it the most, and whomever has the stars and moon aligned just right. Only God knows.

All's I know is that its bound to be a magical night. Yet, I don't think anything can ever get as magical as the night my favorite Sarah Hughes won gold, against all odds. She was a fairy, she was a sprite, a skating god for one night. On that night she literally skated the best she ever skated before or since.

In late commentator's Jim McKay's own words:

"As I sat watching with my wife Margaret in the arena, I sensed with the others in the crowd early in her program that this was something special. The small figure on the ice reminded me of Tinkerbell; she was half human, half mythical. She was Peggy Fleming at Grenoble in '68, Dorothy Hamill at Innsbruck in '76. Harry Potter fans must have felt that alchemy was somehow involved. The girl in the lavendar dress was moving it seemed without effort. She was flawless, she was brilliant."

I guess the results of this poll (and of most polls here) show that any outcome is just a crapshoot and anything is possible. I am surprised to see Amodio receiving so many votes, but most of those skaters listed have received a fair amount. The responses are likely based more on who are our personal favorites, in addition to who we perceive as having the requisite talent.

Amodio is a fairly good jumper, but I think his growth has been stunted under Morosov. I hope that whoever does breakthrough in the near future will combine superb athleticism with above-average artistry/ presentation skills. Nathan Chen (who is mentioned in this thread) has the talent, aptitude and mindset to do very well as a senior but he's still very young and will need to make it through a tough transitional stage of development, so he's not a viable pick for the next few years, as the OP set for voting criteria.

Of the highly touted next generation, I think Maxim Kovtun and Joshua Farris are obviously leading the pack, with Jason Brown in the mix. Of the current senior guys trying to break through, I picked Ross and Richard (but they both are still working on quad consistency and artistic development -- right now Ross seems to have a bit more consistency overall, and time will tell).

Brezina seems to be going through a down phase, and Gachinski seems to need ballet training, confidence building and a new coach. I love Joubert, but he needs to probably brainstorm with Evan, Johnny, Stephane, Jeffrey B, and Plushy to come up with their own rip-roaringly wonderful senior professional tour.

As far as Max Aaron, Keegan Messing, Armin, Doug, Stephen C., Jonathan C., Alex Johnson, Sean Rabbit, Grant Hochstein, et al, I wish there was a Best of the Rest competition after Worlds for all those skaters who are great up-and-comers but can't get out of their Nationals due to their country's depth of talent/ or not enough heavy weight talent to garner enough spots for Worlds. Plus there are limited spots for Worlds anyway and there are not enough highly regarded competitions where such skaters can further develop and gain confidence -- the senior Bs are not enough.

Gachinski seems to need ballet training, confidence building and a new coach.

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Yes, yes, NO.

I keep hearing this - "Gachinski needs a new coach" - but no-one has yet offered a reason WHY he should leave Mishin. There's an obvious respect there, Mishin recognises his talent, accepts he's having a hard time and is trying to nurture him through it. Artur himself dismissed the idea the second it was presented to him at Worlds last year. So tell me, WHY should he leave Mishin - and where would you have him go?

The ballet training would be an excellent idea, and the confidence building is an obvious requirement, but I am not convinced the coaching change is neccessary. In fact, if he changed coaches while on a low confidence ebb, wouldn't that be even worse?

I keep hearing this - "Gachinski needs a new coach" - but no-one has yet offered a reason WHY he should leave Mishin. There's an obvious respect there, Mishin recognises his talent, accepts he's having a hard time and is trying to nurture him through it. Artur himself dismissed the idea the second it was presented to him at Worlds last year. So tell me, WHY should he leave Mishin - and where would you have him go?

The ballet training would be an excellent idea, and the confidence building is an obvious requirement, but I am not convinced the coaching change is neccessary. In fact, if he changed coaches while on a low confidence ebb, wouldn't that be even worse?

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Hmmm, I don't like Mishin's approach, or what I perceive to be his overly jump-centered approach to fs training, but who am I? Anyway, based on my own humble perceptions, perhaps Gachinski would be helped by a different outlook and approach, and emphasis to his training. As far as another coach, I'd say: Tarasova who coached Ilia and Yags to Olympic gold medals, and who was so instrumental in helping Johnny reach the next level by helping to inspire him with confidence and belief in his ability, as well as giving him iconic choreography.